Leaving Wanaka we headed along the West Coast towards Haast and further on towards Fox Glacier. The rain was absolutely lashing down and in the end, we stopped for the night before we even reached Fox, watching a few 'Inbetweeners' episodes whilst the rain came crashing down around us. The following morning we arrived in the Fox Glacier township ready for our Glacier Hike. Unfortuantely due to the bad weather and rock fall due to the Christchurch earthquake the hike was cancelled and we were forced to spend our day uploading photos in an internet café and then in the pub! What a hard life… That night we drove out to the free camping spot at Gillespies Beach, so that we were close by for the Glacier Hike which had been rescheduled for the next day. At midday we were told that the hike was definitely going ahead so we had some lunch and then got kitted out in our provided, and very sexy, waterproof hiking gear. The hike itself was good, but cut short I think due to the unstable conditions, which was a little disappointing. We got back to the town about 6pm in time for dinner. Then decided to sleep at Gillespies Beach again given that it was free and we were keen to conserve some money.
The next day was very special indeed as I turned 24! I woke up with the most amazing views of the glacier, before driving on to Franz Josef with all my favourite tunes pumping out of my ipod. Unfortunately due to the very tragic plane crash that killed 9 people, which happened just days before my intended skydive, my birthday plans were put on hold. Instead I took a birthday shower (something that can often be a luxury when living in a campervan), then headed out for a champagne brunch where we bumped in to a couple of friends who joined us, and then we had a relaxing soak in a spa pool with yet more champagne, before getting ready for a nice dinner and getting horrendously drunk at the quietest bars you have ever seen! All in all 'Happy Birthday' to me. And the skydive was just put back until we reached the North Island.
When I awoke the next morning I pretty much wished death upon myself. At the age of 24 I have obviously learnt nothing and so our drive North was very slow due to stated hangover, and in fact I often jumped out of the car and buried my head in a ditch to be sick. Classy! Still feeling the after effects I stopped off in the Gold Mining town of Ross for a sleep and (tentatively) some food. Once I was close to humanity again we continued our drive towards Westport.